The Canadian GP weekend is barely underway, and underwear is making headlines in F1. F1 drivers, like any other sportsmen, are known to have some of the weirdest superstitions. From wearing sporting gear in a particular order to having the Pope’s photo by their side, many drivers rely on the intangible for good luck. Lewis Hamilton and Lance Stroll are no strangers to this either.

Though Hamilton and Stroll aren’t in the fight for podiums coming into Canada, there is a special focus on them. The Mercedes driver has won in Montreal 7 times, and the Aston Martin driver calls this place his home. In the Thursday press conference, the duo, including others, were asked about their pre-race superstitions, if any.

“Back in my karting days, I’d religiously wash my underwear every night and make sure it went in the wash,” Stroll hilariously replied. “And if I was really desperate, sometimes it didn’t go in the wash! But no, after many years, those things kind of fade. And yeah, I guess it gets a bit dull. And the underwear got a bit small over the years, so I had to give it up,” the Canadian remarked.

Surprised by this private revelation, Hamilton too spilled his story. “I think me neither now, but definitely until I was about 18, 19, I did (have superstitions),” the 7-time champion revealed. “So I had a lucky conker. Somehow, I used to put it in my suit, like Sanka would put the lucky egg in Cool Runnings. And I don’t know how, but it disappeared in a race. And then lucky underwear as well. My mum shrunk them.”

It’s funny how both drivers gave up their superstitions not because they found them absurd but because the underwear stopped fitting them. Older drivers like Alan Jones, David Coulthard, and Felipe Massa have also admitted to carrying their ‘lucky’ underwear along to races. Interestingly, flammable underpants in F1 were a topic of long discussion only two years ago.

Lewis Hamilton is baffled by F1 enforcing underwear rules

During the 2022 Australian GP weekend, there was a two-hour-long discussion about underwear more than anything. F1’s new director reminded drivers not to wear synthetic underwear underneath their fireproof clothing. Most drivers and even team principals were confused as to how this rule would be enforced.

“It was the longest drivers’ briefing of my life,” Lewis Hamilton said after the meeting. “I’ve been racing a long time, and they’ve never done such a long drivers’ briefing. I don’t really understand the small things they are picking up, like the underwear. Are we really talking about that sort of thing?”

The Red Bull Team Principal took the lighter route, encouraging his driver to “go commando” to avoid trouble. Pierre Gasly went the X-rated way, saying that he has “nothing to hide” and that the officials could “check his ar*e” if needed.

Gone are the days when F1 was about neck-to-neck battles. Underpants are the new focus, at least for today before the practice sessions begin and the ruthless competition continues.